With the HD DVD ship sinking fast in the fickle minds of press and public, the assumption is that everyone left on board is lining up to jump. Reuters had a story that played like Microsoft—one of HD DVD's biggest backers—is on the verge of doing so, based on a quote from Albert Pennello, marketing manager for Xbox hardware. Let us count the ways he told us in a sitdown that the story was wrong, and when HD DVD really is buried in Microsoft's mind.
1. The "headline misconstrued the context of what I said."
2. Microsoft is "not thinking about it."
3. It is "fairly definitive" Microsoft is not doing it.
4. Microsoft has "no plans" to build anything Blu-ray.
5. Microsoft is "totally committed to HD DVD."
So just when is HD DVD dead in Microsoft's eyes? It's "over when Toshiba says they're not doing HD DVD anymore." And despite the typhoon slamming their sails this week, we're pretty certain Toshiba is staying on on the boat until it hits the sea floor. [Giz's HD DVD Coverage]